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Veterans Constitute 1/4 of America's Homeless

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According to a recent study the the National Alliance to End Homelessness, "between 23 and 40 percent of homeless adults are veterans."

As a statement on the group's website indicates, "The U.S. Department of Veterans estimates that as many as 200,000 homeless people are veterans, and that over the course of the year, as many as 500,000 veterans experience homelessness. They are veterans of different conflicts, including World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon; research indicates that those serving in late Vietnam and post-Vietnam era are at greatest risk of homelessness. Recent media accounts highlight a small but growing trend of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan showing up in shelters."

These people have put their lives on the line for this country. They fought for this country. Many were seriously injured, physically and/or emotionally. And how do we thank them for their service to this country? By making the system so difficult to navigate, and by doing so little to help them succeed when they come back home.

The folks in Washington are always wrapping themselves in the flag and pretending to be Christians. Meantime, half a million vets are, or have been, homeless.

It's a disgrace.

>> Read more about this crisis, or download the full report.

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Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a focus on politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a former Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights group Amnesty International, and her views (more...)
 
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